I want to thank the Democrats and Republicans in Congress who came together around a hard-fought compromise that will save or create more than 3.5 million jobs and get our economy back on track. Just today, the CEO of Caterpillar said that if this American Recovery and Reinvestment Plan is passed, his company would be able to rehire some of the employees they’ve been forced to lay off. It’s also a plan that will provide immediate tax relief to families and businesses, while investing in priorities like health care, education, energy, and infrastructure that will grow our economy once more. I’m grateful to the House Democrats for starting this process, and for members in the House and Senate for moving it along with the urgency that this moment demands.”

Update | 4:20 p.m. Jeff Zeleny reports: The Democratic leadership from the House and Senate are meeting in the Speaker’s office, trying to salvage the deal that had been announced earlier. There were hard feelings by some House members that an agreement on the economic stimulus had been announced before they had seen the details.

At least some of the differences, aides said, appeared to be over construction spending measures. Aides said the situation would be resolved.

“I think we’re moving very rapidly toward making an announcement of a deal,” Nadeam Elshami, a spokesman for the House Speaker, told reporters who crowded the corridor outside Ms. Pelosi’s office.

End update.

We’re told that House members, including Representative George Miller, are still concerned that there is not enough money in the bill for school renovation.

The much-anticipated conference session — where a $789 billion deal on the economic stimulus package was about to become formal — has just been postponed. It was quite a spectacle, with several veteran senators and chairmen waiting for House Democrats, whose absence forced the conference to be put off.

Just moments earlier, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid had announced outside the conference meeting room that the deal had been struck, and the three Republicans who have sided with the Senate Democrats also spoke.

Then they left to prepare for the conference, which was initially set for 3 p.m.

Senators Daniel Inouye, Max Baucus, Charles Grassley and Thad Cochran sat or stood there waiting as did the two House Republicans. But not to be seen were Representatives David Obey, chairman of the Appropriations Committee, Charles Rangel and Henry Waxman, all of whom were named to the conference.

After several minutes, Senator Inouye stood up and announced that the House Democratic leadership was still meeting and was still being briefed on the details. So the deal was not as firm as announced a bit ago. Apparently, House Democrats are still haggling over school renovation aid — something Nancy Pelosi, speaker of the House, has demanded before, and the Democratic whip, Representative James Clyburn, wanted to make sure there were some assurances attached to the way that money would be disbursed by the states, according to my colleague, David Herszenhorn.

Earlier during the Senate news briefing, Mr. Reid proudly pointed to his three Republican allies on the stimulus package — Senator Arlen Specter of Pennsylvania and Senators Olympia Snowe and Susan Collins of Maine. He singled them out for praise: “I’m really at a lack of words how to express my
admiration/respect for the love of our country, the patriotism and the courage of three brave senators: Specter from Pennsylvania, Snowe and Collins from Maine.”

Whether the tentative compromise will attract any more Republicans remains highly speculative. The House and Senate Republican leadership continued throughout today to call the bill wasteful spending.

Senator Collins, who helped broker a bill that shifted the tax and spending portions a bit in the Senate, said today that she was satisfied with this compromise. “I’m particularly pleased that we have produced an agreement that has a top line of $789 billion,” she said. “That is less than either the House- or the Senate-passed bills. It is a fiscally responsible number that reflects our efforts
to truly focus this bill on programs and policies and tax relief that will help turn our economy around, create jobs and provide relief to the families of our country.”

She also the amount for infrastructure had been enhanced, calling it “the most powerful component in this bill to create jobs. Overall, there is about $150 billion in infrastructure in this bill when you add together transportation, environmental, broadband and other projects.”

For three Republican votes in the Senate, they’re going to let the Republicans try to disprove again that tax cuts during periods of deficit spending simply add to the rate of debt accumulation without producing any economic stimulus at all?

A Democrat in the Whitehouse with a Democratic MAJORITY in the Congress and THREE Republican Senators hold veto power over the stimulus bill? Pathetic. If that were’nt enough, the Republican MINORITY succeeds in reducing money for education, health and state aid in favor of tax cuts. Absolutely pathetic.

Go ahead you guys. Keep fiddling while Rome burns. Whether you accomplish anything or not really doesn’t matter. You’ll still get your hefty government paycheck like clockwork. And, hopefully, most of you will remember to pay your taxes.

Interesting that House Democrats didn’t show up to the party. We’ll have to see what’s going to happen.

Also, cue John D. to come in here and proclaim something to the affect of “these House Democrats knew the porkulus bill was terrible, just like Obama is, to any sophisticated observer. Way to go Senator Collins for ruining our country.”

I’m alway concern when the government has to get involved but at least they are trying to help. I don’t think it will hurt, it can’t really hurt to put $789 billion into a struggling economy. My only concern is that we watch those who will receive the money to ensure that it reaches as many people as possible versus getting stuck in the pocket of a few CEOs.

I don’t think these three Republicans are thinking about the best interests of the whole nation. We got out of the recession in the 1980s through tax cuts…this will work again if responsible members of Congress give it a chance.

What strikes me is the reported large amount of legislators that are “not happy with it.” I remember learning during my student years that a successful compromise is one in which all the parties are left a little unhappy. This commentary by Congress therefore makes me think that perhaps there is some teeth to this culture of bipartisanship that the President has supported. If individual members of Congress do not like certain points in the bill, but Congress passes it, then Congress has done its job.

As a Mainer, I have to say that Sen. Susan Collins’ role in this complicated saga leaves me with deeply mixed feelings.

On the one hand, she did step up and play a leading role in getting this crucial legislation passed.

On the other hand, her contribution consisted in large part of slashing funds for such “wasteful” government activities as school construction and repair.

A lot of my friends here in Maine are teachers. Others are parents of young children. Our schools are probably in better shape than those in other parts of the country. But that’s not saying a whole lot. I guess Sen. Collins has, in the words of Dick Cheney, “other priorities.”

Regardless of the delays and stuff that is going on now with the Obama Administration, you got to admit that even if you’re a HARD CORE RIGHT WING JESUS REPUBLICAN that things are better than they were with the Bush Administration where they where DENYING THE WHOLE THING! Even McCain (“The foundations of our economy are strong”). Obama was the first to call it and tackle it head on! This is something that should have happened like more than a year ago! When they were still saying “there’s nothing wrong, the economy is strong!”

These three ‘renegades” save the Republican pack from a verdict on the failure of their deficit spending policies, and they’re vilified by the pack. Only the puppeteer knows for sure what goes on behind the scene.

There’s still time enough for House shenanigans or last-minute defections by the three GOP amigos propping up the entire stimulus. I’ll believe the deal when this package is passed and on the president’s desk.

I wish I knew how to make the U.S. economy whole again, but I don’t. I know that I don’t trust Democrats at the federal level. They shouldn’t be allowed to spend taxpayer money on all the programs that they dream up. They have good intentions, but they always seem to mess things up.

States should have more control over how money is spent. I just don’t think that U.S. Congressmen know very much about the real world. I don’t think Obama does, either. They’re all very well-spoken, but I just don’t think they have very much common sense about money, and what the federal government should and shouldn’t get involved in. Bless their hearts, they really shouldn’t have control over our lives the way they do.

I love how when a Republican does anything positive, Dems fall all over themselves praising them. I feel like Republicans are being indulged like a spoiled, bratty, three year old. Stick them on the naughty chair and don’t cave in!

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